Busy Round Of Tournaments Coming Up

Chess

April 27, 1986|By Humberto Cruz, Chess Columnist

Ah, the lusty month of May.

For local chess lovers longing for lots of tournament play, the wait is just about over.

CHESS SIG Lauderhill`s Anniversary Chess Tournament, scheduled for May 17 and 18 as part of the city`s 27th birthday celebration, will mark the beginning of a very active chess month for South Florida players.

The Lauderhill tournament will be held at the city`s recreation center annex, 1070 NW 47th Ave. It will be the first open rated tournament in Broward since last October`s Columbus Week tournament in Pompano Beach.

An anniversary tournament was held in Lauderhill last year, but it was limited to players rated 1600 or below -- beginners for the most part.

This year`s event will be open to all, with a $200 prize to the winner and smaller prizes totaling $295 for players in lower rating classes.

The Lauderhill tournament will be a four-round Swiss, with games at 10:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. on Sunday. ``It`s supposed to be an annual thing,`` said tournament director Steve Miller of Miramar.

Miller won`t have to wait too long before directing his next tournament, the Miami Chess Club`s ninth annual Memorial Day Classic May 24 to 26 at the Golden Glades Holiday Inn, 148 NW 167th St. in north Dade.

The tournament, a six-round Swiss, attracts about 100 players from throughout South Florida each year. Two Broward masters, Anatoly Dozorets and Steve Andrews, shared first place in 1985.

This year`s prize fund will be $2,475, with $625 going to the open section winner. Seventeen other prizes will be awarded in two sections, Miller said.

Game times are 1 and 7 p.m. on Saturday, 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. on Sunday, and 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. on Monday, Memorial Day.

And if two tournaments in two weeks are not enough, chess fanatics can look forward to the third annual Arnold Denker Classic, a five-round Swiss, the weekend of June 6 to 8 in Winter Haven.

The tournament, named in honor of Fort Lauderdale grandmaster Arnold Denker, was won by Broward`s Dozorets last year. This year`s prize fund will total $2,500, with $500 to the winner.

For information on the Lauderhill and Memorial Day tournaments, call Miller at 432-8076. For information on the Denker Classic, call Gerald Wellborn at (813) 293-5290, or write him at P.O. Box 934, Winter Haven, Fla. 33882.

-- The Tamarac Chess Club has a new home. Beginning on May 7, club members will meet at the new recreation building in Tamarac Park, 7501 N. University Dr.

The old playing room at the Lake Colony Clubhouse was no longer available.

Before breaking in their new quarters, Tamarac players will travel to Wynmoor Village in Coconut Creek to take on the Village club on Wednesday, said Sam Korsgaard, Tamarac club president.

``They want revenge,`` Korsgaard said. Tamarac, led by then-club champion John Concini, beat the Village 8-0 last year. Concini, however, has since moved to Plymouth, Mich.

``The last time we met, they bled us. You talk about feuds, we have one going,`` joked Danny Heit, president of the Wynmoor club.

Today`s diagram, from last August`s U.S. Open in Hollywood, shows an example of Concini`s play. Playing White is D. Edelman, a master-rated player, who in response to 40...B-N6 chose to snap off Black`s rook pawn with 41. QxP. After 41...BxP, Edelman played 42. Q-R7, seemingly keeping Black`s queen tied to the defense of the rook on b8.

Despite White`s unpleasant threats, Concini chose an aggressive continuation and won the game (we`ll show you how next week). Concini scored 7 1/2-4 1/2 at the Open to push his rating from expert to master.

-- Today`s game is from the Miami Chess Club`s March Open, which ended in a three-way tie between Andrews of Fort Lauderdale and Juan Gonzalez and Matthew Goshen of Dade County.

In this last-round game, Gonzalez, master player and former Cuban champion, took quick advantage of a misplayed opening by Category I player Don McMahon to build an overwhelming advantage.